Meanwhile...
"So, Ver. What did you learn in school yesterday? It's been a while since we last spoke" Ophion asked his eldest son.
"I studied the basic principles of thaumaturgy and alteration. Basically, those are two ways to change the physical world around ourselves. The former is a way to change the essences underlying the world, and the latter is a way to change the manifestations of the those essences, which we call 'everyday items' I also learned..."
He went on like that. Every day. Father always asked him what he had learned, and listened to every last word of it. Every. Last. Boring. Word. He didn't listen to Kria in the same way... no... he liked his wizard child... a wizard like him. A chip off the old block... the smart one in the family... she hated that. Why should his "brilliant thoughts" matter more than her deepest feelings?